File photoA jury convicted Deangelo Baker of assault the intent to rob and acquitted him of assault with the intent to murder. Baker represented himself for half of his trial.

JACKSON, MI — Halfway through his trial this week, defendant Deangelo Baker had it with his attorney.

He thought Phillip Berkemeier was not asking witnesses important questions. And when Baker, 19, interrupted court proceedings, Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson had a question of his own.

"The judge asked if he wanted to represent himself," Berkemeier said, recalling the trial, which started Wednesday.

Baker said yes.

A jury convicted Baker on Thursday of armed assault with intent to rob and a weapons violation. They found him not guilty of assault with intent to murder. Baker will spend at least a decade in jail, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Blumer said.

Prosecutors and police investigators believe that Baker and Larry Greene, 20, attempted to rob Nathaniel Scott on Oct. 21 in the parking lot of the Shahan Apartments on Moorman Drive. During a preliminary examination, Scott told the court Baker and Greene approached him while he sat in his car waiting for a friend. Baker hopped into the passenger seat. Greene tried to jump into the backseat but it was locked.

"Then he came around, put a gun in my face," Scott said of Greene. "They demanded that they wanted everything, started reaching for my phone, keys to the car, things like that. I wouldn't give it up. We got into a physical altercation, and I ended up being shot."

Scott told the court he fought outside the car with Green and Baker. He was shot while running from the scene. After being shot, he looked back and saw Baker holding a gun.

Wilson is to sentence Baker on Aug. 2.

"We're pleased," Jackson County Prosecutor Hank Zavislak said of the jury's decision. "We're looking at a very serious, violent offender off the streets."

Baker became frustrated when Berkemeier did not ask questions he wanted posed to witnesses. Berkemeier said there are just some questions lawyers know they cannot or should not ask. When Baker interrupted the court and spoke on his own, Wilson instructed him to convey all communication through his attorney. Baker told Wilson he was not satisfied with his attorney, Berkemeier said.

Wilson sent the jury out, instructed Baker on his right to represent himself and told him it was not advisable, Berkemeier said. Baker wanted to go ahead on his own, and the trial continued.

Wilson instructed Berkemeier to sit behind Baker and assist if asked. Baker only asked Berkemeier about an argument he wanted to make during his closing statement.

"He asked a lot fewer questions than I would have asked," Berkemeier said of Baker's treatment of witnesses. "The irony of it is, he might have come out better than if I represented him."

Berkemeier said the prosecution's case for the assault with the intent to murder charge was its weakest. The testimonies of key witnesses, Greene and another man, did not match up. When Baker testified, he presented a story different from the two the jury already heard. The witnesses, who had previous histories with drugs, had credibility issues.

Berkemeier, however, would have asked the jury to consider assault with intent to do great bodily harm as a lesser charge. Baker did not.

"He didn't because he doesn't understand the court rules and what you can do," Berkemeier said. "The jury very possibly would have found him guilty of the lesser included offense."

Zavislak said Baker's shenanigans with his attorney were just a ploy to delay the trial proceedings.

Impressed with Baker's ability to seed enough doubt for a not guilty verdict on one count, Berkemeier said his client still did not come out of the trial successful. The robbery charge is a serious offense. Baker has a pending sexual assault case also before Wilson, according to court records.

In exchange for his testimony, Greene will plead guilty to unarmed robbery, said his attorney, George Lyons. Greene has a hearing Tuesday.

The case was the first tried by recently hired Jackson County Assistant Prosecutor Jake Dickerson, a former defense attorney. Zavislak commended Dickerson and the Jackson Police Department for their work on the case.— Contact Aaron Aupperlee at aaupperl@mlive.com or (517) 262-2967.